Cheap Second Stage Separator

I am starting in woodworking and wanted a second stage filter to hopefully extend the life of my Dust Collector. I did a lot of internet research and found this unit. The Fulton 4” Dust Separator Kit sells for around $20. I was able to install it on a 30GAL plastic drum with a locking lid in about 20 minutes.

The unit does the job! I dumped the dust from my collectors bag and sucked it back up and very little finding its way back to the collector. In the drum you can see the cyclone working and I have not noticed the loss of suction from adding the second stage. (I have no way to gauge it other than performance.)

I would recommend this unit to anyone like my without the current knowledge to build a Thien Baffle and wanting a cheap alternative. I do plan in the future to add a Wynn or other cartridge filter to my collector and building a 6” Thien top hat for the drum but for now all the large particles and most the finer dust are in the drum.